This morning in Trieste, in the Blue Hall of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional Council Palace, the second edition of Book Week was presented. The event is dedicated to books, culture and dialogue and will take place in Gorizia from 12 to 14 June 2026, also involving the cross-border area of Nova Gorica and Šempeter.

The press conference was attended by regional councillor Diego Bernardis, President of the Fifth Commission, the Mayor of Gorizia Rodolfo Ziberna, director of the newspapers of the Nem Group Paolo Possamai, representatives of the Gorizia university campus Renata Kodilja for the University of Udine and Diego Abenante for the University of Trieste, together with Federica Gallus representing EGTC GO.

The event is promoted by Nord Est Multimedia, Il Piccolo and the Municipality of Gorizia, in partnership with EGTC GO and PromoTurismoFVG, in collaboration with Italy Post, with the patronage of the University of Udine and the University of Trieste and with the involvement of numerous cultural and institutional organisations of the area.

For three days, Gorizia will become a large space dedicated to reading and ideas: libraries, bookshops, cafés, cultural venues and meeting places will host presentations, discussions and moments of reflection, also thanks to the collaboration with Confcommercio Gorizia. A widespread programme designed to involve citizens, visitors and families, with events also dedicated to children.

The programme will feature meetings with writers, journalists, science communicators, publishers, economists, scientists and leading figures of the national public debate. Guests of the 2026 edition include Giovanni Grasso, Roberto Battiston, Nello Cristianini, Roberta Villa, Massimo Gaggi, Gigi Riva and Vittorio Emanuele Parsi, who will guide the audience through reflections on major contemporary issues: from science to technological innovation, from information to geopolitics.

The second edition of Book Week further strengthens the cross-border dimension of the initiative, involving Gorizia, Nova Gorica and Šempeter pri Gorici through the collaboration with the Mesto knjige Book Fair. This path continues the cultural cooperation developed in the border area, also thanks to the journey of European Capital of Culture 2025, which saw Gorizia and Nova Gorica become a shared European space where languages and cultures meet.

Alongside meetings with nationally renowned guests, Book Week will also give space to authors and projects originating from the cross-border area, including publications supported by the Small Projects Fund (SPF) GO! 2025, managed by EGTC GO and financed by the Interreg Italy–Slovenia 2021–2027 Programme.

The events hosted at the GO! Center in Corso Verdi, Gorizia, a venue made available by EGTC GO for the festival, will be:

Friday, 12 June | 17:45–18:30
GO! Center, Corso Verdi 51, Gorizia
“The Gorizia Path. From Aquileia to Sveta Gora in 4 stages” (Ediciclo Editore)
The authors Andrea Bellavite and Nace Novak will speak

SPF project Walk2Spirit

Saturday, 13 June | 15:15–16:00
GO! Center, Corso Verdi 51, Gorizia
“Bold without borders. Brezmejno drzne. Trilingual anthology of women writers from the Gorizia area” (Kultur / Forum of Slavic Cultures)
The author Katja Mihurko, Full Professor at the University of Nova Gorica and Director of the Research Centre for Humanities, will speak

SPF project Ljubkina pot

Sunday, 14 June | 11:00–11:45
GO! Center, Corso Verdi 51, Gorizia
“The Poetry of Dialects and the Landscape of Images” (Stazioni Postaje APS, Grimacco)
The author Antonella Bukovaz will speak

SPF project Podipo

The festival will also host Book Kids, the section dedicated to children and families, created within the framework of the GO LIM – Librilliamo in Music project, also an SPF project, developed together with the Nova Gorica Music Institute. The initiative includes animated reading activities and music workshops for children involving Italian and Slovenian students.

Book Week was created with the aim of promoting the book as a tool for knowledge, participation and cultural growth, encouraging dialogue between authors and audiences and strengthening the role of the cross-border area as a place where communities, languages and ideas meet.

The complete programme of the festival is available on the official website: www.bookweekgorizia.it